I've been fortunate in that in 40 years of fishing I've only had one rod tip brake and I do not know how it happened. It was during short day trip just this year while casting a tip broke off a rod while casting within minutes of arriving at the first stop of the day. I do not know why it happened. It could have been compromised by a fall I'd taken while crossing a dry river bed when some rocks rolled out from under my feet even after checking for a sure footing a couple weeks earlier, however I fished that rod half a day after that fall and landed numerous fish without issue that day. Hopefully I can go another 40 years without braking another one.

__________________-Tom WilsonAttention New Fly Fishers and those just wanting to improve- Join a Fly Fishing Club. They have classes on every aspect of fly fishing for beginners to advanced for free or cheaper than offered elsewhere. Some offer mentor programs. You will make friends with other fly fishers. Clubs often have outings in which members pay special group rates for guides or to fish prime private access areas.

That's a darn good run of caution 40 years, if you read my post you've seen that I've wrecked a few. I'm hoping to get a bunch of votes on the poll and we will be able to review and cite the findings in future references when we talk about being careful or the unknown.

Never hold a rod like that, I guess everyone who has seen the show already knows this now. I have had a few 4" fighting butts made so that I don't even think about doing that. Lucky there were no eye injuries from splinters flying or cut hands when the shaft snapped huh?

It shame's me to say it but I have broken a few. The first I broke was when I was about 14, I shut it in a door.

The second was about 6 years ago in Alaska. I was fishing a 6wt for rainbow's and hooking a few small kings in the process. after I landed a couple small ones I hook into one a little bigger. I figured what the hell, I'll give it a go. well after a few minutes I hear my rod make a strange noise and I point the rod at the fish and brake it off. check out the rod and all looks good. Start fishing again and about 5 min later it break's in the middle of the Rod while casting.

The third was last winter. I leaned the rod against a tree to take a leak, the wind blew it over and I didn't realize it. I turn around and step on it.

The other one didn't break but I was lucky. I was casting a new two hander (first time I had it out) and I didn't tape the ferrules. the tip piece came off while I was casting and cracked the finish on the female end of the ferrule. amazingly the rod is fine it just tweaked the finish.

I read through this thread and was thinking that I have never had a fly rod break. My first good rod was a Heddon bamboo and I drove over it with my car in its aluminum tube. I had to beat on the tube with a tire iron to get the rod out. It was a three piece with two tips. The rod wasn't damaged and I fished it for several years more. In Alaska I fished out of air planes and boats but never broke a rod. I think that came from taken good care of them in travel.

So just before I wrote that I had never broke a rod I remembered that my bamboo rod has one tip with a short piece missing. So I have broken one fly rod tip but don't remember how I did it.